A signing day ceremony for eight student athletes at West Salem High School on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016.
That West Salem High School would have a letter of intent signing ceremony with as large a scope as they did Wednesday is not surprising.
The school consistently has had its athletes go on to play college sports since it opened in 2002 and big signing ceremonies have become the norm.
Even with that in mind, eight senior athletes signing letters of intent at the same time as they did in the school’s library on Wednesday seems high.
“It’s really good,” said Bailey Holmquist, who signed to play softball at Western Oregon. “I’ve known a lot of these kids that just signed for a really long time and I’ve had them in a lot of my honor’s classes, and they’re all really hard workers.
“I think it’s really cool that I got to sign with all of them today. I feel really honored to have them by my side.”
What’s more impressive than the number of athletes in the group is that they have a combined cumulative grade point average of 3.77.
Paige Whipple signs a letter of intent to play volleyball at the University of Arizona during a signing day ceremony for eight student athletes at West Salem High School on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016.
“I think it just shows that it’s really easy for athletes to be determined in the classroom as well because we do have that requirement of we have to be passing five classes to be participating in sports,” said Paige Whipple, who signed to play volleyball at Arizona and carries a 4.0 grade point average.
“I think that really drives athletes to do well in school and participate and to get good grades.”
Whipple, a first-team all-state outside hitter, verbally committed to Arizona as a sophomore and had to wait until Wednesday’s first day of the NCAA’s National Letter of Intent signing period to sign.
Ahmed Muhumed signs a letter of intent to be on the cross country team at Boise State University during a signing day ceremony for eight student athletes at West Salem High School on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016.
Days after winning his second consecutive OSAA Class 6A state championship in cross country, Ahmed Muhumed signed to run cross country and track and field at Boise State.
“The city is a running city,” said Muhumed, who wants to major in entrepreneurial business or computer science programming. “The team is very diverse. The team is just great and very young, and the coaches have a lot of experience.
“There are a lot of factors that helped me decide why I want to go to Boise. It’s just amazing. It’s the perfect running city, and obviously academically Boise is also a good school. A lot of great programs and a lot of options there.”
Keira McCarrell signed to compete in track and field – specializing in the javelin – at Oregon.
McCarrell is a two-time Class 6A runner-up in the event and a Junior Olympic national champion in the heptathlon.
“Their track program is phenomenal,” McCarrell said. “They by far gave me the most homey feeling. I loved the facilities. I loved the coach. I connected with all of the athletes and my host made a real impact on my heart.
“It was such a hard decision between all of my other schools because everywhere I went I was so loved by the team and the coaches. Every school I felt like it was home there, but I just got a different vibe about Oregon that I hadn’t gotten about any other program.”
Micah Masei signs a letter of intent to swim at the University of Hawaii during a signing day ceremony for eight student athletes at West Salem High School on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016.
Micah Masei signed to compete in swimming at Hawaii.
A state champion in the 200 free relay and state runner-up in the 50 free, he also was a state champion in the pole vault in track and field, but decided to swim in college.
“A lot of my mom’s side comes from Hawaii, so I was able to visit there a little bit when I was smaller so it made it a little bit easier as a transition for me,” said Masei, who plans on majoring in business.
“I’ll be able to see my family and my smaller, younger cousins, also.”
Hannah Bodkin, a state placer in the breaststroke and individual medley, signed to compete in swimming at Dixie State
“It’s a great school, has amazing coaches,” Bodkin said. “All three of them swam my stroke, which is breaststroke, so for me that was really important knowing that I will have three people there for me all the time.
“I really like the location. It’s a super nice town. The school was really great. It has the programs I want to go into, which is nursing. It’s in the sun, too. I love the sun. I love the warmth. I’m looking forward to that.”
Delaney Smith, a first-team all-Greater Valley Conference middle blocker in volleyball, signed to play at Portland State.
“It was close to home and I’ve gone to some of the camps, and I just really liked the program and the coaches are all really nice and welcoming,” said Smith, who wants to major in health or science.
Delaney Henery, a second-team all-state basketball player, signed to play at Lewis-Clark State.
“The minute I got on campus, it just felt like home,” said Henery, who will major in business. “It had a very family aspect to it because it’s a smaller school.
“The coaching staff was amazing and the girls just brought me in, and I instantly felt a connection with them. And they’re a very good program, and that’s what drew me in, I guess.”
Holmquist, who is considering majoring in translating American Sign Language, was a second-team Class 6A all-state second baseman as a junior and was third-team all-state as a freshman.
bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com or Twitter.com/bpoehler
Keira McCarrell signs a letter of intent to be on the track team at the University of Oregon during a signing day ceremony for eight student athletes at West Salem High School on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016.